Effects of pore-fracture structure of ductile tectonically deformed coals on their permeability: An experimental study based on raw coal cores

Abstract The distribution area of ductile tectonically deformed coals (TDCs) usually coincides with the forbidden zones for coalbed methane (CBM) development. Permeability of coal reservoirs, an important indicator to evaluate the energy potential of CBM, is directly affected by the pore-fracture structures. To study the controlling mechanism of pore-fracture structures on permeability, we investigated the micropore - micro-fracture structures of various ductile TDCs by adopting mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and low-pressure gas adsorption. The permeability and the pressure sensitivity of the standard TDC cores were tested by the pressure pulse decay method. The results showed that the total pore volume of ductile TDCs, especially the mesopores and macropores, significantly increased from that of primary structure coals (PSCs), while the volume of transitional pores only slightly increased in strongly crumpled and mylonitized coals, and thus, the dominant pores in coals gradually changed from micro-fractures to mesopores and macropores. The pore-fracture structure of ductile TDCs showed a poorer connectivity and a higher roughness than PSCs. The permeability of typical ductile TDCs obviously decreased, the permeability heterogeneity significantly increased, and the pressure sensitivity of permeability generally showed a pattern of “weakly crumpled - > PSCs > strongly crumpled - and mylonitized coals”. Correlation analysis showed that the weakly crumpled coals that contain well-developed and well-connected micro-fractures and fewer